Although not fond of labels because they have a delimiting quality I do consider myself a Buddhist in thought and practice. The original interest in and present affinity and belief in Buddhism is founded on philosophy. I do indeed love wisdom and the ideas and applications that are connected.
On this page you will find connections to Buddhism and philosophy that I have discovered over the past several years. I will also include some of my personal ideas and ruminations, which in many cases are works in progress as I live, learning every day.
I think of philosophy (Greek: 'philo'=love + 'sophia'=wisdom) as the generation, aquisition, organization and application of ideas to one's life and to the world. There is the matter of a love of wisdom for its own (intrinsic) sake and for what it can do (extrinsic value).
The four fundamental realms of thought (and action) are 1. religion 2. philosophy 3. science and 4. politics. Philosophy is appropriately placed between religion and science not only because of its historical place, but due to its role (real and/or potential). Philosophy can serve as an untainted, neutral intermediary between religion and science.
In ancient times, such as the days of the Pre-Socratics in Greece, religion, philosophy and science were one. In time, they split apart, most notably science from philosophy. Today, for many people science is the new religion and the new philosophy. But philosophy is not forgotten. (Have you not been asked: what is your philosophy of life?) Dry, sometimes dogmatic science is not sufficient for some people, it being too values-free, almost nihilistic. And an increasingly rationalistic generation in the West rejects religion as useless, redundant, irrelevant, even dangerous. Blind faith doesn't suit this age. Nor are dry rules from the past in accord with the spirit of the times. And yet, there remains a demand for religion, often strong, from some quarters. Similarly, there is a demand for science. Really, what people are seeking are answers. They want to know how the world works, and how to live in it. The growing interest in Buddhism from educated quarters comes, I suspect, because Buddhism proper fuses religion, science and philosophy.
Buddhism
Who was Buddha?
Who was Buddha? Who is Buddha? The world 'Buddha' comes from the ancient Pali term "Bodh' which means awakened. To be awake to the world is to be Buddha. Thus, we can all be Buddha. In Buddhism, there are and have been many Buddhas in the history of the world, many fully enlightened beings. In Theravada Buddhism as practiced in Southeast Asia, when speaking of the Buddha one usually refers to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gotama who lived in India around 2500 years ago. In Mahayana Buddhism as practiced in China, Tibet, Korea and Japan, there are many mythical Buddhas as well, each worshipped for the specific attributes it symbolizes. Siddhartha Gotama, the historical Buddha, was an actual man born in India 2500 years ago. He was born in Lumpini Park in Kapilavastu (now Nepal) to a wealthy royal clan called Shakya. The Buddha is thus often called by his family name plus a holy suffix, Shakyamuni. He was raised in luxury, but also an intentional blindness to the world. From his early days, he demonstrated special powers and intelligence. A prophesy was made to Siddhartha's father when the boy was quite young. It was prophesied that he would grow to be either a great conqueror of the world or as a priest, the Enlightened One. Siddhartha's father preferred the former, not wishing to lose his son, and so kept the young boy insulated from the world. The boy grew into a man, married and had a child. But there was something missing in his easy and sheltered life of splendor. He was dissatisified and inquisitive. With the help of some servants, Siddhartha snuck out of the palace on several occasions in an attempt to learn something of the 'real world'. He was shocked by what he saw, as these things had been kept hidden from him within the palace. On his first occasion, he saw a dead man, then a sick man, then an old man. Was this really life, he thought. Old age, sickness and death!! Such pain and suffering. Then on a subsequent outing, Siddhartha saw a religious wanderer. He there decided that he would follow a similar path in order to understand and resolve the problem of suffering in life. And so, one night after a decadent party in the palace, Siddhartha kissed his sleeping wife and child goodbye, uncertain if he would ever return, and fled. At the forest's edge, he gave up everything he had, cut his long, royal hair, shed his royal garb and bid his servant return to the castle with his horse. Siddhartha thus began at age 29, his quest to know, understand and solve the problem of suffering in life. At this time in India, there were many religious wanderers and and teachers. There were ascetics and lofty Brahmins. Siddhartha joined the wandering ascetics, and sought understanding and release from suffering through extreme bodily deprivation and meditation. After several years of such self-torture, he was no nearer the truth, just weary and lean. One day a young woman came to him and offered him some sweet rice and he then realized that the way to enlightenment was not through depriving the body as he had been attempting nor through the pampering of his former palace life. Balance was necessary. The way to truth must be a middle way between the two extremes. One must be healthy and strong in order to learn. Siddhartha then proceeded to meditate beneath a tree (now called a Bodhi tree). For seven days and nights he meditated, thwarted by Mara (the spirit of illusion and desire), but never succumbing. At last he attained enlightenment, at age 35, six years after setting out. He understood the power of the mind, problem of life and the solution. He considered what to do next. At first, he thought that what he had realized was truly too profound to teach. But, he had to teach it. While most people have too much dust in their eyes to see the truth, there are some with only a little dust in their eyes. He proceeded to Deer Park near what is now Varanasi and there found five young Brahmins to whom he taught his first lesson. After his first lesson, a community of monks arose -- the original Sangha. The Buddha continued to wander and teach until he died at age 80. But this was only a beginning for Buddhism.
The Teachings of the Buddha: The Four Noble Truths
"To refrain from evil, to do good, to purify the heart." In a nutshell, this is the core of Buddhism, which it shares with the perennial philosophy expressed expressed by other religions around the world. The teachings of Buddhism, however, are more detailed than this and rather systematic. Continuing from the essay Who was the Buddha? I will here explain what Siddartha Gautama actually taught. After he attained enlightment, which amounted to achieving a remarkable insight into the human condition, Siddartha was unsure what to do with this tremendous wisdom he had gleaned. At first, he thought of teaching it to others, but then doubted that it could be truly communicated in words, that others would be unable to comprehend what he was getting at. Perhaps this wisdom was for him alone to realize and use. Fortunately for us, however, a sense of duty prevailed and while then as now, in terms of great truth most people metaphorically have too much dust in their eyes to fully see, there are some whose sight is obscured by only a little dust. The Buddha hoped that his teaching might be of benefit to the. So, he set off to teach. The Buddha gave his first lesson at Deer Park, Sarnath (near Varanasi, in India) to a group of wandering ascetics he knew. In it, the Buddha explained the human condition in terms of a framework called the Four Noble Truths. Noble Truth 1: There is suffering. (Or more precisely, unsatisfactoriness.)Noble Truth 2: There is a cause of suffering. That cause is desire and attachment.Noble Truth 3: There is a way to eliminate the suffering, which is to eliminate the cause.Noble Truth 4: The way leading to the elimination of suffering is the eightfold noble path. The first noble truth, that there is unsatisfactoriness, is founded on a fundamental characteristic of being noted by Buddhism, which is that all things are impermanent and changing. Remember the Buddha's pre-enlightenment glimpses of old age, sickness and death in which he first confronted human suffering. Most people would not dispute that human life entails a certain amount of sorrow and loss and that this is in the nature of living. There is suffering and we cannot keep things forever and the same. The Buddha believed that this was the fundamental problem of existence. But, it is not a hopeless situation, for the Buddha, like a good doctor, examined the disease and identified the cause. This, he said, is craving. Thus arose the second noble truth.We are always desiring what we don't have. We want things to remain the same and in our possession, a form of attachment. This is futile, though, because of impermanance. This causes us to suffer.Having identified a cause, there is a possible solution, simply the elimination of the cause. This is the third noble truth. It is very important. Get rid of desire and attachment (or reduce it) and suffering will disappear (or be reduced). That seems quite clear, but the question is how. The Buddha then explained the fourth noble truth as his elegant eight-fold noble path to the elimination of suffering by eliminating the cause of suffering.The Buddha recognized further that craving was rooted in three fundamental types of defilement or imperfection: 1) ignorance, 2) greed and 3) hatred. He designed his noble path to attack and eliminate this three hindrances to happiness.The Eightfold Noble Path1. Right understanding. 2. Right thought.3. Right speech. 4. Right action. 5. Right livelihood. 6. Right effort. 7. Right mindfulness. 8. Right concentration. Everything you need to know about Buddhism to achieve enlightment is here. Elements one and two have to do with wisdom, which combats ignorance. Elements three, four and five are about morality, which combats hatred. The last three elements are about concentration, which combats greed. The path is thus broken into these three parts. The Buddha taught the eight points in different ways depending on the character of his student. For someone overwhelmed by greed, he emphasized concentration, while for someone full of hatred, he would focus on morality. The three sections are to be studied as is appropriate to the student. Right understanding is the foundation of wisdom and the cessation of suffering. If you don't understand or misunderstand, the Buddha's teachings, then you will surely encounter problems. Right thought entails using right understanding in order for your mind to aspire to thoughts which are free of greed, hatred and ignorance. With right thought, you achieve a mind which is largely still and full of loving-kindness.The next three steps underlie all the rest, for without morality, wisdom or concentration are difficult if not impossible. One should be truthful and moderate in speaking and similarly in behavior. The five precepts of Buddhist life refer to 1) not killing (the converse:preserve life) 2) not stealing (the converse:preserve and respect things) 3) not lying (the converse: be truthful) 4) not being sexually indulgent (the converse: be moderate and true in sexual matters) and 5) not consuming intoxicants (the converse:have a healthy diet and care for your body and mind). This says so much. I might addthat one should not harm the universe around you, but be kind to all and everything. A right livelihood is important too, as one's job should not entail violation of the five precepts. Such jobs as butchers, executioners or thieves do not incline one to a moral life. With wisdom and morality in place, it is then time to train the mind. Mental training, also called meditation, is critical to Buddhist practice and sets it apart from western religions. Suffering really originates in our mind as it is our response to situation and circumstance that creates sorrow and pain. So, it is through the mind that we can finally follow the third noble truth. One begins by making the effort to concentrate the mind and this effort is made towards achieving mindfulness. One should be aware at all times of one's thoughts, words and deeds and be cognizant of cause and effect. The Buddha taught that live in a realm of conditioned things called "samsara" (the cycle of suffering) that are fueled by karma which is fueled by ignorance and a lack of mindfulness. When one is mindful, one is more apt to refrain from doing bad and to do good. Concentration means focussing the mind (making it calm and one-pointed) and maintaining that mindfulness at all times in everything you think, say and do. When all eight elements of the path work together, one will truly find a happiness that is strong and enduring. The four noble truths of which it is a part are the foundation of all forms of Buddhism and a philosophy and religion not so difficult to understand or apply. The Buddha taught this lesson in many forms for the next forty-five years until his death. Their truth still rings true.
MIND AND ZEN
Why are we born? We are born so that we will not have to be born again.To attain unltimate enlightenment, called Nirvana, is like extinguishing a candle, whose flame is suffering. fueled by the three poisons of 'desire', 'hatred' and 'ignorance'.At the core of Buddhist teaching, and something that distinguishes it from other religions, is the emphasis on MIND -- the forerunner of all good and all evil, the cause of suffering and the source of ultimate release. Buddhahood is awareness and awareness is founded in the mind.The Zen approach to the mind is subtle and useful. While other Buddhist approaches focus on morality, meditation and wisdom as the medicine to relieve the three poisons, Zen is more simple and also more difficult (because it is so subtle and cannot really be taught).The first Zen teaching was almost 2500 years ago when the Buddha held up a flower before a crowd of disciples. All were puzzled by this except for Kashyapa, who smiled in understanding.Many years later in Tang Dynasty China a Zen master referred to a saying of Sojo:Heaven and earth and I are of the same root. The ten thousand things and I are of one subtance.Almost 1000 years after Shakyamuni Buddha, Zen was brought to China by the Indian monk, Bodhidarma in the 5th century. To this legendary figure has been attributed the bringing of zen, tea and kung fu to China. He is purported to have cut off his eyelids to keep from falling asleep and to have spent 9 years in meditation facing a wall at Shaolin Temple in China. His approach to Buddhism was to use the sword of wisdom to cut minds free from rules, trances and scriptures, which had grown in practice and influence in China to that time.Among his many teachings, were written:* The essence of the way is detachment.* Not thinking about anything is Zen.* The goal of those who practice is freedom from appearances.To focus on the mind is to focus on practical living, this very moment and moment to moment. The breath is a useful tool to develop awareness.The mind is intrinsically tranquil. Out of this tranquility, anxiety and confusion are born. If one sees and knows this confusion, then the mind is tranquil once more. We meditate to get rid of things, not to gain things.Every day is a good day.
Excerpts from the Zen Teachings of Huang Po
From 'The Zen Teachings of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind'. Edited and translated by John Blofeld. Published by The Buddhist Society, London, 1977. Huang Po was a Chinese monk who lived in China in the ninth century A.D. He is regarded as the intellectual founder of the Japanese Rinzai Zen sect. As can be seen from the following passages, Mind is the most important element to wisdom and enlightment. As to performing the six paramitas and vast numbers of similar practices, or gaining merits as countless as the sands of the Ganges, since your are fundamentally complete in every respect, you should not try to supplement that perfection by such meaningless practices. When there is occasion for them perform them; and when the occasion is passed, remain quiescent . If you are not absolutely convinced that the Mind is the Buddha, and if you are attached to forms, practices and meritorious performances, your way of thinking is false and quite incompatible with the Way. The Mind is the Buddha, nor are there any other Buddhas or any other mind. It is bright and spotless as the void, having no form or appearance whatever.
* * * This Mind is no mind of conceptual thought and it is completely detached from form. So Buddhas and sentient beings do not differ at all. If you can only rid yourselves of conceptual thought, you will have accomplished everything.
* * * Let there be a silent understanding and no more. Away with all thinking and explaining. Then we may say that the Way of Words has been cut off and movements of the mind eliminated. This Mind is the pure Buddha-Source inherent in all men. All wriggling beings possessed of sentient life and all the Buddhas and Boddhisattvas are of this one substance and do not differ. Differences arise from wrong-thinking only and lead to the creation of all kinds of karma.
* * * If an ordinary man, when he is about to die, could only see the five elements of consciousness as void; the four physical elements as not constituting an 'I'; the real Mind as formless and neither coming nor going; his nature as something neither commencing at his birth nor perishing at his death, but as whole and motionless in its very depths; his Mind and environmental objects as one -- if he could really accomplish this, he would receive Enlightenment in a flash. He would no longer be entangled by the Triple World; he would be a World-Transcendor. He would be without even the faintest tendency towards rebirth. If he should behold the glorious sight of all the Buddhas coming to welcome him, surrounded by every kind of gorgeous manifestation, he would feel no desire to approach them. If he should behold all sorts of horrific forms surrounding him, he would experience no terror. He would just be himself, oblivious of conceptual thought and one with the Absolute. He would have attained the state of unconditioned being. This, then is the fundamental principle.
* * * Observe things as they are and don't pay attention to other people. There are some people just like mad dogs barking at everything that moves, even barking when the wind stirs among the grass and leaves.
* * * The Way is not something which can be studied. Study leads to the retention of concepts and so the Way is entirely misunderstood.
* * * Only he who restrains every vestige of empiricism and ceases to rely upon anything can become a tranquil man.
* * * To be absolutely without concepts is called the Wisdom of Dispassion. Every day, whether walking, standing, sitting or lying down, and in all your speech, remain detached from everything within the sphere of phenomena. Whether you speak or merely blink an eye, let it be done with complete dispassion.
* * * Only come to know the nature of your own Mind, in which there is no self and no other, and you will in fact be a Buddha.
* * * When all the Buddhas manifest themselves in the world, they proclaim nothing but the One Mind. Thus, Gotama Buddha silently transmitted to Mahakasyapa the doctrine that the One Mind, which is the substance of all things, is co-extensive with the Void and fills the entire world of phenomena.
* * * Full understanding can come to you only through an inexpressible mystery. The approach to it is called the Gateway of the Stillness beyond all Activity. If you wish to understand, know that a sudden comprehension comes when the mind has been purged of all the clutter of conceptual and discriminatory thought-activity. Those who seek the truth by means of intellect and learning only get further and further away from it. Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.
* * * We cannot become what we have always been; we can only become intuitively aware of our original state, previously hidden from us by the clouds of maya.
* * * When thoughts arise, then do all things arise. When thoughts vanish, then do all things vanish.
* * * A perception, sudden as blinking, that subject and object are one, will lead to a deeply mysterious wordless understanding; and by this understanding will you awake to the truth of Zen.
* * * Have no longing to become a future Buddha; your sole concern should be, as thought succeeds thought, to avoid clinging to any of them.
* * * All the visible universe is the Buddha; so are all sounds; hold fast to one principle and all the others are Identical. On seeing one thing, you see ALL. On perceiving any individual's mind, you are perceiving ALL Mind. Obtain a glimpse of one way and ALL ways are embraced in your vision, for there is nowhere at all which is devoid of the Way. When your glance falls upon a grain of dust, what you see is identical with all the vast world systems with their great rivers and mighty hills. To gaze upon a drop of water is to behold the nature of all the waters of the universe.
* * * Develop a mind which rests on no thing whatsoever.
* * * This Mind is no mind of conceptual thought and it is completely detached from form. So Buddhas and sentient beings do not differ at all. If you can only rid yourselves of conceptual thought, you will have accomplished everything.
* * * Let there be a silent understanding and no more. Away with all thinking and explaining. Then we may say that the Way of Words has been cut off and movements of the mind eliminated. This Mind is the pure Buddha-Source inherent in all men. All wriggling beings possessed of sentient life and all the Buddhas and Boddhisattvas are of this one substance and do not differ. Differences arise from wrong-thinking only and lead to the creation of all kinds of karma.
* * * If an ordinary man, when he is about to die, could only see the five elements of consciousness as void; the four physical elements as not constituting an 'I'; the real Mind as formless and neither coming nor going; his nature as something neither commencing at his birth nor perishing at his death, but as whole and motionless in its very depths; his Mind and environmental objects as one -- if he could really accomplish this, he would receive Enlightenment in a flash. He would no longer be entangled by the Triple World; he would be a World-Transcendor. He would be without even the faintest tendency towards rebirth. If he should behold the glorious sight of all the Buddhas coming to welcome him, surrounded by every kind of gorgeous manifestation, he would feel no desire to approach them. If he should behold all sorts of horrific forms surrounding him, he would experience no terror. He would just be himself, oblivious of conceptual thought and one with the Absolute. He would have attained the state of unconditioned being. This, then is the fundamental principle.
* * * Observe things as they are and don't pay attention to other people. There are some people just like mad dogs barking at everything that moves, even barking when the wind stirs among the grass and leaves.
* * * The Way is not something which can be studied. Study leads to the retention of concepts and so the Way is entirely misunderstood.
* * * Only he who restrains every vestige of empiricism and ceases to rely upon anything can become a tranquil man.
* * * To be absolutely without concepts is called the Wisdom of Dispassion. Every day, whether walking, standing, sitting or lying down, and in all your speech, remain detached from everything within the sphere of phenomena. Whether you speak or merely blink an eye, let it be done with complete dispassion.
* * * Only come to know the nature of your own Mind, in which there is no self and no other, and you will in fact be a Buddha.
* * * When all the Buddhas manifest themselves in the world, they proclaim nothing but the One Mind. Thus, Gotama Buddha silently transmitted to Mahakasyapa the doctrine that the One Mind, which is the substance of all things, is co-extensive with the Void and fills the entire world of phenomena.
* * * Full understanding can come to you only through an inexpressible mystery. The approach to it is called the Gateway of the Stillness beyond all Activity. If you wish to understand, know that a sudden comprehension comes when the mind has been purged of all the clutter of conceptual and discriminatory thought-activity. Those who seek the truth by means of intellect and learning only get further and further away from it. Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.
* * * We cannot become what we have always been; we can only become intuitively aware of our original state, previously hidden from us by the clouds of maya.
* * * When thoughts arise, then do all things arise. When thoughts vanish, then do all things vanish.
* * * A perception, sudden as blinking, that subject and object are one, will lead to a deeply mysterious wordless understanding; and by this understanding will you awake to the truth of Zen.
* * * Have no longing to become a future Buddha; your sole concern should be, as thought succeeds thought, to avoid clinging to any of them.
* * * All the visible universe is the Buddha; so are all sounds; hold fast to one principle and all the others are Identical. On seeing one thing, you see ALL. On perceiving any individual's mind, you are perceiving ALL Mind. Obtain a glimpse of one way and ALL ways are embraced in your vision, for there is nowhere at all which is devoid of the Way. When your glance falls upon a grain of dust, what you see is identical with all the vast world systems with their great rivers and mighty hills. To gaze upon a drop of water is to behold the nature of all the waters of the universe.
* * * Develop a mind which rests on no thing whatsoever.
